The Photographs Taking You Into The Heart Of The 1969 Native Resistance At Alcatraz 

Dua’s Monthly Read for March is There There by Tommy Orange – a powerful novel that explores urban Native American life. Through 12 interconnected characters living in and around Oakland, California, Orange weaves an intimate narrative about identity, cultural erasure, and resilience.

As the characters in the novel grapple with generational trauma and questions of identity, one character, Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, looks back on the time she moved to Alcatraz Island with her mother and sister during the 1969-71 Indians of All Tribes occupation of the notorious disused prison in San Francisco Bay.

It was a pivotal moment for the American Indian Movement – sometimes called the Red Power Movement. Led by Richard Oakes, a young academic and activist, and a group of fellow activists from tribes across the country, the occupation aimed to reclaim the island for Native people and protest against centuries of cultural erasure. It became the longest Native-led occupation of a federal facility in US history, drawing national attention to Native rights and resistance.

As news of the occupation spread, thousands of Native people from tribes across the country travelled to San Francisco to join in, some staying months. Celebrities including Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda visited to show their support. But over time, with no fresh water or electricity on the island, conditions deteriorated, fractures appeared between the protest leaders and numbers started to dwindle. In June 1971, the remaining activists were removed from the island by United States marshals and, later, the Indian termination policy – a series of US laws designed to assimilate Native people into American society from the 1940s to the 1960s – was ended. In 1975, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act was also passed, empowering tribes to exercise their sovereignty and control their own affairs within Indian Country.

The photos below document the historical significance of that occupation and capture the enduring legacy of both Native activism and the fight for sovereignty that continues to shape Indigenous communities around the world today.

Richard Oakes, One Of The Leaders Of The Occupation, At Alcatraz On 17 November 1970

Richard Oakes, a member of the Mohawk tribe, arrived on the island with 50 student activists on 20 November 1969. There had been previous attempts to occupy the island, citing the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 between the US and the Sioux, which promised to return abandoned federal land to Native people. The occupiers wanted the island to revert to Native control and to build a spiritual centre, a university and a museum there. Richard was the first to declare the words that became the rallying cry for the occupation: “We hold The Rock.”

John Trudell, Spokesperson For The Occupation, On The Steps Leading To Alcatraz Prison 

John Trudell was a poet and actor who served as a spokesperson during the Alcatraz Island occupation. The group, which called itself the Indians of All Tribes, began articulating its vision in earnest via news conferences, radio interviews and news broadcasts, with Trudell saying: “If this is the land of the free, we want to know why we don’t have the respect and dignity that all free men are accorded by other free men.” Following the occupation, Trudell became the chairman of the American Indian Movement.

Activist Lanada Means, One Of The Leaders Of The Alcatraz Occupation, And Her Son In November 1969 

LaNada Means was one of the organisers of the occupation, and a lead negotiator between the Indians of All Tribes and the government. She was one of the first to arrive on the island alongside Richard Oakes, and one of the last to leave 19 months later. During that time, she was the chief fundraiser for the proposed university on the island, though she received little recognition for her contribution to the movement compared with her male counterparts.

Occupiers Stand Under A US Government Sign At The Island Dockside (The Word ‘States’ Has Been Changed To ‘Indian’) 

Just five days into the occupation, there were 200 activists living on the island. At the height of the occupation, this grew to 400. Other civil rights organisations, such as the Black Panthers, supported the protestors with deliveries of food and essential supplies. Rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival donated $15,000 – a very generous amount at the time – that was used to buy a boat to transfer supplies such as generators, water and food.

Occupation Spokesman Richard Oakes Meets With US Attorney Cecil Poole 

Richard Oakes (left) met with US attorney Cecil Poole (right) a week after the start of the occupation, when he visited Alcatraz Island to urge the activists to evacuate the former federal prison. The activists stood their ground and remained on the island for 19 months.

Activists Celebrating Unthanksgiving Day At Alcatraz On 27 November 1969

The first Unthanksgiving Day was celebrated on the island less than a week after the November 20 landing. The ceremony – also called The Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Ceremony – continues to be held annually on Alcatraz Island. Today, it is hosted by the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), which says: “Alcatraz represents both a site of pain where Indigenous Peoples were imprisoned for their resistance to colonisation, and a place where we stood up together for our rights and survival. This annual gathering honours those resisters and reminds us that our fight for justice is far from over.”

Children Enjoy A Meal At Alcatraz Island On 17 November 1970 

There were six children among the first occupants of Alcatraz in 1969 and four children among the last people to be removed in 1971. There were many more on the island in between, some spending months sleeping in old prison cells. In There There, the character Oval Viola Victoria Bear Shield recalls: “Me and Jacquie slept close, on Indian blankets, in that old jail cell across from our mom...Everything that made a sound in those cells echoed a hundred times over. Our mom sang the Cheyenne lullaby she used to sing to put us to sleep.”

Richard Oakes And His Wife Annie Marrufo 

Richard Oakes and his wife Annie Marrufo left Alcatraz in January 1970 after their 13-year-old daughter Yvonne died after falling down concrete steps. Just two years later, aged 32, Richard Oakes was shot and killed in an altercation. Although Oakes was unarmed, his killer claimed self-defence and was acquitted.

Protestors Arriving On The Island 

Many protestors came and went during the occupation, some staying days, some staying for the duration of the whole protest. In June 1971, 19 months after the protest began, the last 15 activists were removed from the island by United States marshals. Though the demands of the occupiers were not realised, the occupation increased awareness of the injustice against Native people.

Watch Dua’s full interview with Tommy on There There here